PRELIMINARY DESIGN CONCEPTS RESIDENCE
46 Avery Rd, Buckland MA 2 Project Goals 6 Soil 8 Slopes 10 Drainage 12 Sun and Shade 14 Wind 16 Views 18 Design Concepts Rachel W Lindsay, Ecological Designer
lindsay15@csld.edu · issuu.com/rwlindsay
4 Existing Conditions
Rachel W Lindsay, Ecological Designer 2
FOCUS AREA Hayden Residence, 46 Avery Rd, Buckland MA
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PROJECT GOALS
• Site an energy efficient 4-bedroom house (~1800 ft2, with a ~1200 ft2 footprint) with an attached 2 car garage and breezeway, and 2 bedroom guesthouse (~1000 ft2), preferably within 500 feet of the road, with driveway access and parking. The houses should maximize views of the landscape and be situated so that there is some privacy between them. Improving the drainage, handicapped accessibility, and reasonable winter driveway maintenance are priorities. • Creating outdoor living space for the family. • Increasing privacy from the neighbors. • Site a 20ft x 50ft machine shed to be incorporated into a working farmyard with the existing 18th century barn. • Site 10k of solar photovoltaics. • Designating approximately 1/8 acre for annual and perennial garden
Property Description The family has recently purchased the 283-acre property (shown right) at 46 Avery Road in Buckland. Their long-term vision for the property is to maintain a traditional New England farm aesthetic, sustainably manage the forest and agricultural lands, and create a safe, attractive, and energy efficient home for their family. The image to the right shows the full property with 3 meter contour lines. The majority of the land is forest covering two small mountain peaks and a valley with a permanent stream (image source: Oliver GIS).
Focus Area
In the south-eastern corner of the property there are approximately 30 acres of hayfields and a small orchard on the northeastern edge of the fields. The original farmhouse, barn, and agricultural buildings are located on the southern edge of the property abutting the Road. The original farmhouse, chicken coop, and parts of the barn are in poor condition and will be removed.
The family defined a 3.3-acre focus area of cleared land surrounding the standing buildings within which the new buildings should be sited, shown in detail on the previous page (image source: Google Earth).
Rachel W Lindsay, Ecological Designer
The family has requested assistance with the following project goals:
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8 EXISTING CONDITIONS Hayden Residence, 46 Avery Rd, Buckland MA
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EXISTING CONDITIONS History of the Site
1. Timber-frame hay barn. Will be restored. Double sliding doors on the lower level open to the east out to a relatively flat area. The barn is open to the north and there are smaller doors on the west and south sides.
5. The trees fully mature trees on the property are predominately Norway maple (Acer platanoides), white spruce (Picea glauca.), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), and fruit trees (Malus spp., Prunus spp.)
2. The old farm house will be removed. The house sits on a plateau that drops off to the east with a bank that extends northward from the driveway entrance at The Rd. The northern side of the plateau also drops off in a steep, rocky bank with what appears to be a constructed stone dam at the base.
6. The un-mowed shrubby areas are dominated by multifloral rose (Rosa multiflora), barberry (Berberus vulgaris), goldenrod (Solidago spp.), and milkweed (Asclepius spp.). Note: A full vegetation analysis was not conducted on the site.
3. The chicken coop will be removed. It sits on a stone foundation between 35อด tall two maple trees. 4. There are several stone walls on the property that are in varying condition. To the east of the farmhouse, a stone wall runs along the top of the bank. This is in relatively good condition. There are two rows of large stones along either side of the logging road that may be collapsed walls or may simply be elongated piles of stones removed from the hayfields to accommodate for plowing.
7. There are several field roads that follow the contour lines across the hayfields where the compaction from farm equipment over time is observed. 8. The neighbor across the street has a field road and logging road that enter Rd. across from the focus area.
The property at 46 Avery Rd. was held for three generations by the Wilder family, who maintained a dairy and equestrian farm. They constructed a hay barn with milking parlor and attached additional storage and workshop spaces, a house with two attached sheds to the north, and a 50 ft-long chicken coop. Over the last decade, the property was not well maintained, and the house and buildings were allowed to deteriorate. The family plans to restore the barn but remove the chicken coop and house. That leaves the areas currently occupied by these structures available for the new buildings. The water source for the farmhouse is a spring located on the side of the mountain on the western side of the property. The water is currently gravity-fed through tubes that run along the logging road. The family plans to maintain the source as a backup but site a well on the property. Siting the well is not part of this design phase.
Rachel W Lindsay, Ecological Designer
Observations
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370C Shelburne fine sandy loam
Rachel W Lindsay, Ecological Designer
375B Ashfield fine sandy loam
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116D Millsite-Westminster complex
116F SOILS Hayden Residence, 46 Avery Rd, Buckland MA
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SOILS
370C - Shelburne fine sandy loam, typically found on 8-15 percent slopes. This is a well-drained soil, more than 80 inches to lithic bedrock, and 15-25 inches to the water table. Shelburne fine sandy loam is considered a Farmland of Statewide Importance and covers approximately 21 percent of the focus area. 375 B - Ashfield fine sandy loam, typically found on 1-8 percent slopes. This soil is moderately well-drained, typically has more than 80 inches to lithic bedrock, and 14-19 inches to the water table. Ashfield fine sandy loam is considered a Prime Farmland, and covers approximately 43 percent of the focus area. Source: Natural Resources Conservation Service. These soils were mapped at a scale of 1:12,000 and may not be accurate at this scale.
Observations The western side of the site, roughly one-third of the total area, is characterized by steep, rocky soils with less than 3 feet depth to bedrock. The northern and eastern extents of the site are finer soils, slopes of 0-15%, and less well drained and with possibly less than 20 inches depth to the water table but more than 7 feet to lithic bedrock. All soils on the site are rated “very limited” for septic tank absorption fields, for the following reasons: excessive slope, shallow depth to bedrock, slow water movement, and shallow depth to saturated zone. Shelburne fine sandy loam and Ashfield fine sandy loam are rated as very limited for dwellings with basements because of high water table and saturation.
Implications The Millsite-Westminster complex on the western side of the property creates severe constraints to installing a building foundation, including high slopes and shallow depth to bedrock. Constructing in this area would have high economic and environmental impact costs. The Shelburne and Ashfield fine sandy
loam have lower slopes that create less risk for erosion. The high water table is more vulnerable to contamination and can cause seepage issues in basements, leading to mold issues. Grading should redirect all water flow away from the house, which should have a raised foundation to avoid water damage. Using data at this scale, there are no soil constraints for siting gardens anywhere on Shelburne or Ashfield fine sandy loams. Soil samples should be sent to a laboratory to determine the levels of organic matter and nutrients at a finer scale. The “very limited” septic tank absorption rating will require a leach field to be constructed. Further localized testing is necessary to determine the percolation rate and leachfield dimensions. For a 6 bedroom house with a soil percolation rate of between 1 and 10 minutes/inch, the leach field size might vary from 650 ft2 to 1000 ft2. Both Ashfield sandy loam and Shelburne sandy are designated valuable farmland, therefore construction and distubrance should be minimized and care taken to not cause erosion or runoff that would damage the quality of farmland downslope.
Rachel W Lindsay, Ecological Designer
116D and 116F - Millsite-Westminster complex is a rocky soil mix. The letters indicate different average slopes; D 1525 percent slopes and F 25-50 percent slopes. These soil complexes are generally well-drained soil mixes, with 10-40 inches depth to bedrock, and more than 80 inches above the water table. They cover approximately 36 percent of the focus area.
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SLOPES Slopes above 15% are more susceptible to erosion, and require more costly grading to construct upon. If possible, avoid siting main buildings here. Appropriate for hiking trails, terraced gardens, orchards.
10% - 15% slopes It is not recommended to construct on slopes above 10%. If necessary, soils would need to be stabilized during and after construction using vegetation or
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bioengineering methods. Driveways should be graded to no more than 11%, which may be more costly in these areas. Appropriate for gardens, orchards, and walking paths.
5% - 10% slopes These areas may require some grading for drainage and handicapped accessibility. Care should be taken during construction to avoid erosion.
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0 - 5% slopes Slopes of less than 5% have few constraints for construction and there is little risk for soil erosion. These are ideal places for constructing with the least impact.
Implications There are two areas that have majority slopes of less than 10%, outlined in blue. Restricting new buildings to these areas may limit the impact of the construction, and reduce the amount of grading necessary and overall project costs.
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Hayden Residence, 46 Avery Rd, Buckland MA
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DRAINAGE Observations Rapid Water Flow Slow Water Flow Channelized Water
The fairly regular northeast facing slope results in fairly consistant runoff to the northeast. Water is channelized in ditches along the north side of The road, the western edge of the site along the woodland, and to the northwest of the farmhouse. There is also a small drainage channel west of the chicken coop. Water tends to pool in areas with less than 5% slope.
Implications To avoid water issues, buildings should no be sited in the path of channelized water. They should be graded such that they are raised and vegetated swales constructed to divert water from the foundation. The area where the house is should be graded to at least a 2% slope to allow water to run off and not pool.
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Pooling
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SUN AND SHADE Hayden Residence, 46 Avery Rd, Buckland MA
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SUN AND SHADE Observations
Fall and Spring Equinox (1)
Implications
Layered snapshots from a Sketchup model, with the chicken coop and original farmhouse removed, illustrates likely shade patterns during the year. The Sketchup model also attempts to take into consideration the slope of the land.
6:30 am, 12 noon, and 4:30 pm This image shows an increase in afternoon shade from the mountain to the west and longer shadows. The western half of the southern meadow and the site of the chicken coop remain the sunniest location on the site at this time of year.
The model indicates that, in the current conditions, the southern meadow has the most solar gain. Trees could be removed from around the original farmhouse to improve the solar gain. The barn creates a limitation for locating solar panels to either side. The Sketchup model is limited in that it shows shade at ground level rather than at the height of the roof on which solar photovoltaic panels would be mounted. Before confirming the location of the solar panels, a digital solar pathfinder should be used on site to determine the best location for siting a building with solar panels.
6:30 am, 12 noon, and 5:00 pm This shows that the sunniest area is the southern field. The barn casts considerable shadows to the east and west, and shading the flat area on the west by 5 pm. The trees surrounding the old farmhouse cast some shade. The trees across the street do not impact the property at the summer solstice.
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Winter Solstice (2) 8:00 am, 12 noon, and 2:30 pm In the winter the majority of the site is in shade by early afternoon, and the trees from across the street begin to cast shadows on the southern edge of the property.
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Rachel W Lindsay, Ecological Designer
Summer Solstice (Opposite page)
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Prevailing Winter Wind
Rachel W Lindsay, Ecological Designer
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Prevailing Summer Wind
WIND Hayden Residence, 46 Avery Rd, Buckland MA
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Observations
Wind Electricity Generation
According to available GIS data, at 30 meters above the ground, the wind on the site averages 4.5-5 meters/second.
There may be potential on the property for wind power generation. According to Buckland zoning laws, wind generators are allowed in the residential zones with a special permit. “Roof mounted Small or Very Small Wind Energy Facilities that are an accessory use to a residential or non-residential use that are not taller than 8 feet and do not exceed the maximum building height requirements (see Section 5-2 Dimensional Schedule) and that comply with the noise and flicker requirements of this bylaw are allowed “by-right” but require a building permit and must comply with all applicable local, state and federal requirements, including but not limited to all applicable safety, construction, electrical, and communications requirements.” (Section 4-3)
The prevailing wind, on a yearly basis, comes from a westerly direction. It is more northwesterly in winter and southwesterly in summer.
Implications
Sources: Mass GIS/Oliver, National Climatic Data Center
Vegetation buffers can help shelter the house and cottage from the northwestern winter winds. Keeping southern sides of houses exposed will allow summer breezes to enter the house for cooling. Although data for lower than 30m is not available, the fact that the area registers on the GIS layer suggests that the force of winds along the ground are significant and measures to protect the house on the northwest from the winter winds would be a good investment.
Rachel W Lindsay, Ecological Designer
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VIEWS Hayden Residence, 46 Avery Rd, Buckland MA
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VIEWS
The view from the south eastern corner of the property has the widest and furthest unobstructed sightlines. Adding structures west or south of the current barn would significantly change this view.
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The view east from the middle of the hill is dominated by the farmhouse and the mature line of trees running along the eastern side of the driveway. The removal of the farmhouse will open up the possibility to view the mountains from this location.
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The view to the north from the middle of the southern meadow captures the fields and valley east of Snow Mountain.
From the porch along the eastern side of the current farmhouse there is an expansive view of the Deerfield River valley and the sunrise.
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Implications
The longest views of the property are to the north and east. They increase in prospect as one moves west and south. Trees and buildings define the edges of the space.
The final house design should place strategic areas and activities to take advantage of eastern and northern views.The relationship between the house and cottage has privacy implications that also need to be considered. If one building is placed higher on the hill vegetation could be used to create privacy.
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